(Box from BC game summary sheet)
Wednesday, December 10, 2001 at Kelley Rink (Conte Forum), Chestnut Hill, MA
BC 3, HU 2 NON-CONFERENCE GAME
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HARVARD UNIVERSITY (ECAC) 2 0 0 - 2 (5-5-1 overall, 4-4-1 ECAC)
BOSTON COLLEGE (HE) 2 0 1 - 3 (11-2-3 overall, 6-0-2 HE)
Shots on Goal Pen - Min Power Play
HU 6- 5- 7 -- 18 10 - 20 1 - 3
BC 13-14-11 -- 38 8 - 16 2 - 6
HU - Dov Grumet-Morris 11-14-10 - 35 saves/3 goals (59:41)
BC - Matti Kaltiainen 4- 5- 7 - 16 saves/2 goals (60:00)
Referee - Tim Benedetto
Assistants - Chris Aughe, Tom Quinn
Attendance - 4862
1st Period
HU1 Charlie Johnson 4 (Brendan Bernakevitch, Ryan Maki) 1:24
BC1 Pat Eaves 5 (Ben Eaves, Ryan Shannon) PPG 6:48
HU2 Brendan Bernakevitch 2 (Tim Pettit, Noah Welch) PPG 7:11
BC2 Tony Voce 13 (Ben Eaves, Pat Eaves) PPG 16:08
Penalties
HU - Ryan Lannon (cross-checking) 6:30
BC - Stephen Gionta (tripping) 6:52
BC - Justin Dziama (slashing) 7:16
HU - Dan Murphy (slashing) 7:16
HU - Tyler Kolarik (holding) 7:50
HU - Brendan Bernakevitch (holding) 15:31
BC - Joe Rooney (obstruction-interference) 16:51
2nd Period
No Scoring
Penalties
BC - Joe Rooney (hit from behind) 9:51
HU - Kenny Smith (roughing) 13:30
BC - Adam Pineault (roughing) 13:30
HU - Tom Cavanagh (tripping) 19:49
3rd Period
BC3 Tony Voce 14 (Ben Eaves, Pat Eaves) 6:01 GWG
BC Timeout 11:42
HU Timeout 17:55
Penalties
BC - Adam Pineault (double roughing - 4 min.) 9:47
HU - Blair Barlow (double roughing - 4 min.) 9:47
HU - Dennis Packard (hit from behind) 10:27
BC - Patrick Eaves (hooking) 11:12
HU - Kenny Smith (boarding) 11:42
3 Stars - None selected, the following are my choices:
1. BC - Ben Eaves (3A)
2. BC - Tony Voce (2G)
3. HU - Dov Grumet-Morris (35 saves, 3 goals)
Harvard University (players listed but lines not accurate, not on sheet):
F DENNIS PACKARD, TOM CAVANAGH, TIM PETTIT
Rob Fried, Andrew Lederman, Tyler Kolarik
Charlie Johnson, Brendan Bernakevitch, Ryan Maki
Dan Murphy, Kevin Du, Steve Mandes
D NOAH WELCH, PETER HAFNER
Ryan Lannon, Kenny Smith
Tom Walsh, Blair Barlow
G DOV GRUMET-MORRIS, John Daigneau
Boston College:
F TONY VOCE, BEN EAVES, PAT EAVES
Chris Collins, Ryan Shannon, Dave Spina
Brian Boyle, Adam Pineault, Justin Dziama
Joe Rooney, Ryan Murphy, Stephen Gionta
D ANDREW ALBERTS, J.D. FORREST
John Adams, Greg Lauze
Taylor Leahy, Brett Peterson
G MATTI KALTIAINEN, Joe Pearce, Robbie Miller
COMMENTS
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This delayed report could have been written based on Boston College's
previous game, where the game was dominated by the BC top line of Ben
Eaves, Pat Eaves, and Tony Voce. They accounted for all the BC scoring
for the second consecutive game, and BC again dominated the offensive
shot charts over an opponent. Harvard played hard, though, and just missed
tying the game in the third with late pressure, backstopped by a strong
effort by Dov Grumet-Morris in net. Brendan Bernakevitch also played
well for Harvard, involved in both Crimson goals and being their most
dangerous offensive force for the night. The BC defense again held an
opponent under 20 shots on goal, and it was sufficient to hold on for a
tight 3-2 victory (that probably should have been an easier win.)
Harvard jumped on top early when a failed pinch by John Adams turned
Bernakevitch loose on a 2-on-1 break. When Greg Lauze slowed trying to
turn and retreat, it turned into a 2-on-none break, and Bernakevitch
slid a nice pass across to the left side for Charlie Johnson to pop in
the open net. BC carried the play after that for several minutes, with
Grumet-Morris coming up with the saves. Kenny Smith pinged one off the
post through a screen for Harvard, and BC had a couple of easy shots on
goal. BC took advantage of the first power play when the top group passed
the puck back and forth along the left side, finally getting the puck to
Pat Eaves below the red line. He skated out, looking for a passing angle,
but everyone was covered and he fired a low shot at a tough angle that
found its way through the goalie's legs to even the score at 6:48. The
Eagles took a penalty on the ensuing faceoff, though, and Harvard struck
right back on the power play. As the defense converged to the right side
as the puck went to the point, a pass cross-ice found Bernakevitch all
alone in the left circle with a wide-open net to shoot at. He fumbled a
bit to get control but Kaltiainen was out high to block what he thought
might be a shot from the other point and the goalie was late getting
across. Bernakevitch finally got his shot off and it beat the netminder
to restore Harvard's lead. The middle part of the period was a succession
of penalties to both teams, and lots of action with little control or
success. BC had more of the chances, but each team had free pucks with
clear opportunities in front that they couldn't get shots off on, or had
the shots deflected or saved. Grumet-Morris came up big with 2 successive
saves later in the period but the pressure forced a Harvard penalty,
and the Eagles struck for another power play goal. The puck was worked
back and forth low behind the net with the Eaves brothers, then Ben sent
a pinpoint pass through the defenders to an unmarked Tony Voce on the
doorstep, and he fired a 1-timer past the goalie before he could move.
Almost midway into the second period, an up-and-down stretch of play
followed from that point, with lots of skating, tight checking, few shots,
and no significant scoring chances. Each team seemed reluctant to take
too many chances for fear of giving up the tiebreaking goal. Following
a brief BC flurry, Harvard got a power play and forced Kaltiainen to make
his best saves of the night to keep the score even. BC had better shots
through the end of the second period but the goalie stoned them the rest
of the way.
The third period started with a BC power play that featured big slap shots
that sailed wide, and a Pat Eaves shot into the side netting. With the
Crimson getting no offense whatsoever, they allowed BC to force the play
in the Harvard end for several minutes, and it eventually came back to
bite them. Beginning with a great series of mini-battles behind the net
and in the corners, the 2 Eaves brothers kept the puck moving and going
back and forth from side to side. It seemed as though everyone was getting
worn out from the physical struggles when Ben Eaves finally worked free
and skated behind the net. He stopped, waited, and then just when it
seemed he would skate out he saw Voce free in the slot and pushed a quick
pass to him. In a carbon copy of the 2nd BC goal, Voce again 1-timed it
behind Grumet-Morris for a sudden score, and BC was up for good. Steve
Gionta had a golden opportunity to increase the lead when he slid the
puck through the defense and down the slot with a nifty move, and had
the goalie sprawling as he shifted right, then left. But the final shot
hit the outside of the netting. Things were physical and tense for the
next 5 minutes, with a series of penalties and an Eagles power play.
Voce just missed a tip with a wide open net, then Grumet-Morris made a
great save with a leg pad on a quick Voce slap shot.
With Harvard pressing for the equalizer, play opened up significantly for
the last part of the game. Ben Eaves and Voce had shots saved, Pat Eaves
fed a pass to the slot that was just missed, Harvard had a counter chance,
and then a BC turnover led to a Crimson shot that trickled through the
goalie and just wide of the post. More scrambling play led to a weak
BC clearing attempt that Harvard shot into a crowd in front. I couldn't
see it, but apparently it got by Kaltiainen and rebounded off a post into
the crease, where a crush of players knocked the net off before it could
be pushed into the net. BC started taking care of business at that point
and let the Eaves/Voce line control play in the Harvard end, keeping
them away from the BC net. Voce had an empty-net shot from center ice
bounce off the left post, denying him a hat trick, and Harvard couldn't
get another shot before it ended.
This game was a showcase for the All-American talents of Ben Eaves, who
controlled play every time he was on the ice. His passing to set up the
tying and winning goals was spectacular, and he was easily my choice for
number one star. Tony Voce also showed his value in picking up his 13th
and 14th goals of the year. He has a knack for getting open and more
than most players he capitalizes on his shots when he gets them. With
Pat Eaves also being a major threat on the line, it is very hard to shut
them down completely, and the last 2 BC wins have been dominant
performances by this group. The other story for BC was the continued
team defensive play, keeping a tough Harvard team off balance most of
the night and doing enough to get the win.
Harvard had some players with good games (Bernakevitch was very strong and
would have been my number 3 star choice if it weren't for the goalie.) But
just as other teams have discovered, BC has a way of making some of the
opponents' offensive weaponry ineffective. Kolarik and Packard were
invisible much of the night on offense, and there just wasn't enough from
the 4 lines to generate enough scoring chances. With a 10-game unbeaten
streak, it is probably time to note that it is BC that is making the
other teams less effective, not that everyone magically has a bad night
when playing the Eagles. This game matched the ones from the previous
ones in the sequence: Dominant offensive possession and shots by BC
(though the other goalie almost always looks good, making lots of saves),
few shots and disrupted offense by the opposition, and limited rubber making
it through to Kaltiainen in goal (which makes it tough for him to get in
a groove and on top of his game.) Dov Grumet-Morris, one of the better
goalkeepers in the ECAC, looked good in this game. The only shots that
got by him were point-blank; if the shot came from more than 15 feet, he
stopped it. The effort by the Crimson would have beaten most teams,
but BC is a bit tougher than most teams.
The Eagles go into their holiday break on a strong roll, and I expect it
will be tough for them to continue the momentum through the holiday
tournament. They play next against Michigan in the Great Lakes
invitational tourney, a tough matchup. If they keep focused and play as
they have been playing, they will do well. But it will be tough to go
outside the region to play 2 tough games in Detroit, so I'm not convinced
they'll make it through the championship. Harvard still has 2 games
before Christmas, a tough one with UMass Saturday afternoon in Cambridge,
then a road matchup with league foe Princeton next Tuesday. The Crimson
then faceoff against St. Cloud State in the Providence holiday tourney.
Rick McAdoo
"Volunteer reporter"
A content BC fan. GO EAGLES!
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